MRI: Acquisition of a Xeuss 3.0 with Genix 3D Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Instrument

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

This Major Research Instrumentation Award is for a 3D Small-Angle and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS/WAXS) instrument, located in a shared nano/microfabrication and materials analysis facility at UC San Diego. As an essential analytical tool, this advanced SAXS/WAXS instrument supports the ongoing research of a broad cross-section of researchers, enabling discoveries in synthetic chemistry, catalysis, inorganic and biological materials, quantum materials, and energy storage/conversion materials. The instrument provides a versatile, state-of-the-art, reliable and local solution to the SAXS needs of the large scientific community in the Southern California region comprising San Diego and Orange Counties. In addition, the SAXS/WAXS instrument is used to enrich the training of both graduate and undergraduate students in the theory, synthesis, and analysis of nano- and microstructured materials. It allows instructors to use modern research data for pedagogical purposes, provides students with hands-on x-ray training to enhance their science, engineering, and technology curriculum, and augments the educational outreach programs at UC San Diego, bringing a significant opportunity to increase participation of underrepresented students in research. Small-Angle and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS/WAXS) is one of the few experimental techniques that can characterize the nano- and microstructure of soft matter and nanomaterials. It is an essential analytical tool in the characterization of mesoscale and nanoscale features in a wide range of biological and artificial materials. The instrument enables measurement in a dynamic environment (with in-situ control of temperature, humidity, and ambient gas concentration) to provide insights into materials structure-function and structure-response relationships. Unique features of the instrument include automated simultaneous SAXS and WAXS measurements, grazing incidence measurements on liquid interfaces, and low-volume flow-through sampling of biomacromolecules. These features are also appropriate for studies of: (i) short-lived species; (ii) degradation-prone biological samples; (iii) air-, temperature-, or water-sensitive materials; and (iv) materials systems that require frequent or long-timescale x-ray measurements. The instrument also features a doubly focused point source, which allows for collecting scattering data from both isotropic and anisotropic samples because a scattering image can be generated from the entire projected source. The instrument is used to solve transformational materials science problems in the areas of mesomaterials, inorganic, and biological materials, quantum materials, and energy storage/conversion materials. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.